ZIP 12957 vs ZIP 12916

This side-by-side compares ZIP 12957 (Moira, NY) and ZIP 12916 (Brushton, NY) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 12957 has a population of 1,726 at 21 people per square mile, while ZIP 12916 has 2,135 at 20 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 12957 reports a median household income of $54,572 against $69,833 in ZIP 12916, with per-capita income of $30,513 vs $33,406. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.3% in 12957 and 17.7% in 12916. Poverty rate reads 28.0% vs 19.4%, and unemployment 9.3% vs 5.9% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $87,600 in 12957 versus $94,700 in 12916, with median rent of $800 and $803 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.6% vs 74.4%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.